THE QUEEN OF THE BLACK RAVENS

People say your first heartbreak is the hardest to survive. They're wrong. The hardest heartbreak is when the people you consider family are the ones who destroy you. I learned that lesson on the night I lost everything. I grew up in the Black Ravens Motorcycle Club. To outsiders, the Black Ravens were dangerous men who lived by their own rules. To me, they were family. I had spent my entire life inside the clubhouse, running through hallways, learning to ride motorcycles before I could even drive a car, and falling asleep to the sound of roaring engines. I was Victor Hayes' daughter. The club princess. At least, that's what everyone called me. I had five boys who had been by my side for as long as I could remember. Jaxon, Ryder, Mason, Cole, and Ethan. The entire club used to joke that wherever one of us went, the other five followed. Jaxon was my first love. Ryder was my protector. Mason could always make me laugh. Cole was the calm one, the one who kept everyone grounded. Ethan was my partner in crime. They were my best friends. My family. My home. And I trusted them with my life. That was my biggest mistake. "You've been staring at yourself for ten minutes," Ava said, leaning against my bedroom door with a grin. "If you keep this up, we're going to be late." I rolled my eyes and turned away from the mirror. "I just want everything to be perfect." Ava smiled sadly. "You always want everything to be perfect." Tonight mattered. It was my twenty-first birthday, and the entire club was throwing a party downstairs. But that wasn't the reason I was nervous. Jaxon had been acting strangely for weeks. Distracted. Distant. Every time I asked if something was wrong, he would kiss my forehead and tell me I was imagining things. Tonight, he had promised we would talk. Part of me was terrified. Another part hoped he would finally propose. "Stop overthinking," Ava said, walking over and fixing a strand of my hair. "Go downstairs. Everyone's waiting." I smiled. "You're coming, right?" She hesitated. Something about her expression made my stomach tighten. "Ava?" "I'm coming," she said quickly. "I'll be down in a minute." I nodded and headed downstairs. The music was loud enough to shake the walls. The clubhouse was packed with members, family, and friends. Laughter filled the room. Someone had decorated the entire place with black and silver balloons. "There's the birthday girl!" Mason shouted the moment he saw me. A chorus of cheers erupted. For a few minutes, everything felt normal. Ryder pulled me into a hug. Ethan handed me a drink. Cole wished me a happy birthday. Even Jaxon smiled when our eyes met from across the room. But something still felt off. I couldn't explain it. I just knew. I was making my way toward Jaxon when the front doors opened. The entire room fell silent. A young woman walked inside. She looked around my age, maybe a little older. She had long blonde hair, blue eyes, and the kind of beauty that made people stare. The problem wasn't that she was beautiful. The problem was that Jaxon looked like he had seen a ghost. I stopped walking. The girl's eyes landed on Jaxon. Then she smiled. And Jaxon smiled back. My heart sank. Slowly, the girl walked toward us. Nobody said a word. The tension inside the clubhouse was unbearable. "Jaxon," she whispered. He swallowed hard. "Isabella." I frowned. "You know her?" Nobody answered. I looked around. Ryder looked uncomfortable. Mason was staring at the floor. Cole wouldn't look at me. Ethan looked angry. Fear gripped my chest. "What's going on?" Jaxon finally looked at me. For the first time in six years, I couldn't read his expression. "Aria, we need to talk." My blood ran cold. No. No, no, no. People never said those words unless something terrible was about to happen. I forced a smile. "Okay. Let's talk." "Not here." "Why not here?" Silence. The entire room seemed to hold its breath. Then Isabella stepped forward. "I'm sorry." I stared at her. "Sorry for what?" Tears filled her eyes. That terrified me. Because strangers didn't apologize unless they had done something terrible. I looked back at Jaxon. "What is she talking about?" Jaxon closed his eyes. When he opened them again, there was something inside them that I had never seen before. Guilt. "I'm sorry, Aria." My world stopped. Because deep down I already knew. And whatever he was about to say was going to destroy me. "I've fallen in love with someone else." Everything inside me shattered. And standing beside him, holding his hand, was the girl who had just walked into my life. The girl who was about to take everything from me. Isabella. I stared at him, certain I had heard him wrong. "What?" Jaxon's face turned pale, but he didn't take back his words. "I didn't mean for this to happen." A broken laugh escaped my lips. "You didn't mean for what to happen? Falling in love with someone else? Or humiliating me in front of everyone I love?" "Aria" "No." I shook my head, tears burning my eyes. "Tell me I'm wrong. Tell me this is some joke." Nobody spoke. Not Jaxon. Not Ryder. Not Mason. Not Cole. Not Ethan. The silence was answer enough. I looked around the clubhouse. Every single person was watching me with pity. Pity. I hated pity. "How long?" I whispered. Jaxon looked away. "How long have you been with her?" He remained silent. "Jaxon." "A few months." My heart shattered. "A few months," I repeated softly. "A few months while you were still with me?" He nodded. I took a step back as if he had slapped me. "Wow." Ryder moved toward me. "Aria, let us explain." I looked at him in disbelief. "Explain what, Ryder? Explain why all of you look guilty?" Nobody said anything. My eyes moved from one familiar face to another. And suddenly, I understood. "You knew." Mason closed his eyes. Cole lowered his head. Ethan cursed under his breath. I felt sick. "You all knew." "Aria" "Don't." My voice shook. "Please don't lie to me again." The entire room was silent. I looked back at Jaxon. "Were you ever going to tell me?" "Yes." "When?" "Tonight." I laughed through my tears. "On my birthday?" Jaxon looked devastated, but I didn't care. Not anymore. I had spent six years loving him. Six years of believing that one day we would get married. Six years of building my future around him. And in a matter of seconds, everything was gone. Isabella stepped forward. "I'm really sorry." I turned toward her. "You should be." Without another word, I removed the silver bracelet Jaxon had given me on our first anniversary. I stared at it for a moment. Then I dropped it at his feet. The sound of metal hitting the floor echoed through the silent clubhouse. "I never want to see any of you again." I turned around and walked away. Nobody tried to stop me. And somehow, that hurt the most. I barely made it to the staircase before someone grabbed my wrist. "Aria, wait." I knew that voice. Ryder. I pulled my hand away immediately. "Don't touch me." Ryder looked like he hadn't slept in days. "Please, just listen to me." I shook my head. "You don't get to ask me for anything right now." "None of us wanted to hurt you." A bitter smile crossed my face. "That's funny because you all did." "Aria-" "No, Ryder." I wiped angrily at the tears running down my face. "Do you know what hurts the most? It's not that Jaxon fell in love with someone else. People fall out of love all the time." Ryder remained silent. "It's the fact that all of you knew and still looked me in the eye every single day." My voice cracked. "You let me make plans for a future that didn't exist." Pain flashed across Ryder's face. "We were trying to protect you." I laughed through my tears. "Stop saying that. None of you protected me. You abandoned me." For a moment, neither of us spoke. Then I whispered the words that would haunt all five boys for years. "You were supposed to choose me." Ryder looked completely shattered. But I was too broken to care. Without another glance, I walked upstairs, unaware that downstairs, Victor Hayes was staring at a sealed envelope with my name written across it. An envelope he had promised never to open unless everything fell apart. And tonight, everything had.